Abstract

The Scarlet Letter, as the masterpiece of Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of the greatest romantic authors at the Renaissance in America, draws the experts and scholars all over the world in ancient or in modern times. Due to the artistic characteristics of author’s writing style, readers are able to dig into the novel from various aspects, such as the analysis of shaping characters’ personalities, the analysis of non-human setting and the theme of the novel. Symbolism, is a bright point of The Scarlet Letter, which throughout the novel and endows unique symbolism to each characters and object. Therefore, the dissertation focuses on the symbolism of “A” in The Scarlet Letter, attempting to explore the relationship between the characters and the scarlet letter “A” from the basis of the main characters and minors as the supplementary, to explore the writing ideas and styles of Hawthorne.

Keywords : Hawthorne； The Scarlet Letter；symbolisation

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1.Introduction.1

1.1Introduction of Nathaniel Hawthorne.1 

1.2 Introduction of The Scarlet Letter1

1.3 Introduction of Characters2

1.4Introduction of Symbolism.2

2. The meaning of scarlet letter “A” in different characters’ eyes.2

2.1 The scarlet letter “A” and Hester Prynne. 3

2.2 The scarlet letter “A” and Arthur Dimmesdale 3

2.3 The scarlet letter “A” and Chillingworth 4

2.4 The scarlet letter “A” and Pearl.6

2.5 The scarlet letter “A” and the Puritans .7

3. The alteration of the scarlet letter “A”8

3.1 The factors of the alteration.8 

3.2 The meaning of alteration8

3.3 The objective of the author8

4. Conclusion9

References10